DAWSON CREEK – Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark was in Dawson Creek today to join students from Northern Lights College for the grand opening ceremony of the college’s new trades training facility.

The new facility was built over the past two years at a cost of $34.4 million and opened for classes in September.

Mark said that the new facility is providing students with hands-on learning using industry-standard equipment to gain the tools and skills necessary for a career in the skilled trades.

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NLC offers several trades and apprenticeships programs, including aircraft maintenance engineering, electrician and power engineering. The new facility will house the carpenter, millwright, plumber, welding and wind-turbine maintenance programs.

“Students, their families, local employers and community in the northeast are going to benefit from the new trades training centre in Dawson Creek,” said Melanie Mark, B.C.’s Minister of, Skills and Training. “The new facility that officially opens today means students can stay close to family and their community, without having to travel outside of the region. It’s also equipping those students with hands-on experience to begin their career and help us build the best B.C.”

The project includes construction of a 3,995 square-metre trades building that connects to the main building of the Dawson Creek campus via an indoor walkway. Replacing several old structures previously used by the college for trades training, the new building also provides physical capacity for up to 96 new full-time-equivalent spaces – which is a 33 percent increase.

$14.6 million in funding was provided through the Government of Canada’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund and $16.4 million was provided by the Province of British Columbia. The remaining $3.4 million was provided by NLC and donors.

Investments through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund are being used to modernize facilities at Canadian universities and colleges, as well as improve the energy efficiency of these facilities and reduce their impact on the environment.

“This new facility is a state-of-the-art learning centre that will provide training opportunities in skilled trades for residents of northeastern British Columbia,” said Bryn Kulmatycki, president and CEO of Northern Lights College. “Northern Lights College is a training centre of choice that serves the needs of students and industry throughout our region and beyond for generations to come.”

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